Larry Gatlin to perform at the Whatley April 5

In 2008, Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers performed on the Northeast Texas Community College campus before a packed house at the Whatley Center for the Performing Arts. Gatlin will return for an encore with an intimate, solo acoustic performance on April 5 at 7:30 p.m.

This unplugged concert will feature Gatlin telling stories about his life through multimedia presentations and songs from his childhood. This personal and heartwarming show will provide a glimpse into the life of the beloved country superstar.

“We had a phenomenal response when Larry Gatlin and the Gatlin Brothers performed on our stage a few years ago and we have had many requests to bring them back. This concert with Larry is really a unique opportunity to go learn more about the motivation behind the music and to hear his tremendous vocals without distraction,” Carolyn Franks, Director of the Whatley Center, said.

Larry Gatlin was born in 1948 in Seminole, Texas, the son of an oil driller. The oldest of the three Gatlin brothers, he was by age seven, already accompanying younger brothers, Steve and Rudy in singing at family and church events.

After high school, Larry went to the University of Houston on a football scholarship. Larry majored in English and developed “a love affair with the English Language” that later served him in his songwriting.

On the strength of his songwriting talents, Larry Gatlin became known throughout Nashville music Industry. While Steve and Rudy were finishing college, Larry was already touring the small club and listening room circuit as a solo act, looking forward to the time when he could afford to expand his live show to include his brothers.

Together, The Gatlin Brothers enjoyed outstanding success in the country music industry with hits like All the Gold in California, Take Me To Your Lovin’ Place, Houston (Means I’m One Day Closer to You), and many others.

December 1992 marked a farewell to concert touring for the Gatlin brothers. Then came a major turning point in his career. Larry took the lead role in the Tony award winning best musical “The Will Rogers Follies.”

In 2008, for the first time in 17 years, Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers reunited as a band, returning to the road and released Pilgrimage on Curb Records. Today, Larry and the boys maintain a healthy tour schedule and play the Grand Ole Opry many times each year. Larry is a regular guest contributor to the Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Fox News Radio and FoxNews.com.

Tickets are still available for the performance, which is sponsored by Cypress Bank. The cost is $75 for rows A-B and $35 for rows C-O. No group discounts are available. Call 903-434-8181 to reserve seats today! Visit www.ntcc.edu/whatley to learn about this and other performances at the Whatley Center for the Performing Arts.